2000
#9,594
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.15
Rare Last name
Telford
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "hill ford" or "ford by a plank bridge."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,737 Americans carry the last name Telford. That puts it at #9,538 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 91,719 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Telford surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Telford with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 91,719
Census rank
#9,538
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,259 bearers of the surname Telford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9538th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Telford, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Telford
The surname Telford originated in England, primarily in the county of Shropshire. It is derived from the Old English words "tell" meaning "a hill or high ground" and "ford" meaning "a shallow place for crossing a river or stream." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a ford across a river at the base of a hill.
Telford can be traced back to the 13th century in Shropshire. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Assize Rolls of Shropshire in 1292, which mentions a Richard de Telford. The name is also found in the Hundred Rolls of Shropshire from 1274, which lists a Robertus de Telforde.
The name Telford is closely associated with the town of Telford in Shropshire, which was originally known as "Telforde" in the Domesday Book of 1086. The town likely took its name from the nearby ford across the River Terne, situated on a hill.
Thomas Telford (1757-1834) was a renowned Scottish civil engineer and architect, known for his work on roads, bridges, and canals. Although not directly related to the English surname, his name is closely linked to the town of Telford, which was renamed in his honor in 1968.
Other notable individuals with the surname Telford include:
1. John Telford (1851-1939), a Scottish-born Australian politician and businessman.
2. William Telford (1836-1915), a Scottish-born Canadian civil engineer and surveyor.
3. Robert Telford (1804-1876), a Scottish Presbyterian minister and writer.
4. Thomas Telford (1772-1857), a British naval officer and explorer.
5. John Telford (1872-1939), a Scottish-born Australian politician and trade unionist.
While the surname Telford is relatively uncommon, it has a long history in England, particularly in the county of Shropshire, where it originated from the geographical features of a ford across a river at the base of a hill.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Telford
Among Census respondents with the surname Telford, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Telford bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Telford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.6% · 2,496
- Black or African American15.0% · 489
- Two or more races4.0% · 131
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Telford
Telford appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,861
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,280
+170 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.11
Rank movement Down 267 places
2020
#9,538
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,259
-21 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Up 323 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,594 | 3,110 | 1.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,861 | 3,280 | 1.11 | +170 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 267 places |
| 2020 | #9,538 | 3,259 | 1.09 | -21 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 323 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Telford surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,861 | #9,538 | 3.3% |
| Count | 3,280 | 3,259 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.11 | 1.09 | -1.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Telford bearers went from 3,280 to 3,259 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 323 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,861 to #9,538.
FAQ
Telford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Telford?
Name Census estimates that about 3,737 living Americans carry the surname Telford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 91,719 residents.
How common is Telford?
Telford ranks #9,538 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.09 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,259 people with the surname Telford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,737), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.09 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Telford.
Has Telford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Telford went from 3,280 recorded bearers to 3,259. That is a decrease of 21 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,861 to #9,538.
What does the Census say about the background of Telford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Telford, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Telford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.6% (2,496 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Telford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.6%), Black (15.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Telford (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Telford mean?
An English habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "hill ford" or "ford by a plank bridge." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Telford (1.09 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Telford?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.